Giō-ji, Buddhist nunnery in Saga Toriimoto, Ukyō-ku, Japan

Giō-ji is a Buddhist nunnery in western Kyoto distinguished by traditional thatched buildings surrounded by expansive moss gardens and bamboo groves. The grounds blend architectural elements with natural features to create a cohesive setting.

The site began as the Pure Land (Jōdo-shū) temple Ōjō-in, said to have been founded by Ryōchin, a disciple of Hōnen. By the early Meiji years it was abandoned; its graves and wooden statues were kept by Daikaku-ji. In 1895 former Kyoto governor Kitagaki Kunimichi donated a tea house from his Saga villa, which became the main hall of the rebuilt nunnery, renamed Giō-ji after the dancer linked to the site.

The temple's name comes from Gio, a shirabyoshi dancer in The Tale of the Heike who, after losing Taira no Kiyomori's favour to the younger Hotoke Gozen, became a nun here with her sister Gijo and mother Toji. The main hall enshrines wooden statues of Kiyomori and the four nuns, and their graves stand in the grounds.

Giō-ji lies in Saga-Toriimoto Kosaka-chō, Ukyō-ku. From Saga-Arashiyama Station on the JR San'in (Sagano) line it is about 20 minutes on foot; the same walk takes about 20 minutes from Arashiyama Station on the Keifuku Arashiyama line and about 30 minutes from Hankyū Arashiyama. City buses 28 and 91 and Kyoto buses 64 and 72 stop at Saga Shaka-dō-mae, about 15 minutes away on foot; city bus 11 stops at Saga Shōgakkō-mae, about 17 minutes away.

The main hall holds wooden statues of Taira no Kiyomori and the four nuns of the Heike story: Gio, Gijo, Toji and Hotoke-gozen. The temple also keeps the graves of Gio, Gijo and Toji and a memorial tower for Kiyomori, so the tale's characters are present as images and tombs rather than only as text.